Other provinces, from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador, have a minister tasked with responding to the interests of their minority francophone communities. Quebec anglophones deserved no less. It had always seemed a bit odd that Premier Philippe Couillard’s government could not bring itself to designate a minister responsible for ensuring that this province’s linguistic minority had someone at the cabinet table to look to the community’s concerns and interests.

The premier had resisted calls for such an appointment, on the grounds that anglophones are fully Quebecers and didn’t need a special minister. While that was a nice sentiment, it ignored the fact that the community does have rights and interests that need to be voiced — and taken into account — at the highest levels.

Even under this friendly government, there have been at least two significant occasions (Bill 10 on hospital administration and the abandoned Bill 86 on school board governance) when major government initiatives sideswiped the English-speaking community and its institutions. It is to be hoped that the appointment of Kathleen Weil as minister responsible for relations with Quebec anglophones, plus the creation of the secretariat for anglophone affairs promised in June, will prevent such situations in the future. The natural tendency of majorities is to be oblivious to minorities. Now, at least, the English-speaking community will have a minister, one who knows the community well, as an interlocutor and who can be held accountable.

It should be noted, though, that this minister (like most of her counterparts in the rest of Canada) does not have an anglo relations ministry, so her power to act will be limited. (Also like most of her counterparts, she holds an additional portfolio.) It is also worth pointing out that the minister’s title refers to relations with anglophone Quebecers and not, say, services to anglophone Quebecers.

And of course, the presence of a minister, while potentially very helpful, does not necessarily equate with positive action. After all, Quebec’s previous minister for anglophones was Jean-François Lisée, in the cabinet of Pauline Marois’s Parti Québécois government. His mandate appeared to be to act as a goodwill ambassador to the English community rather than its voice in a cabinet. Cynics may suggest that Weil’s mandate, in the run-up to the election, may not be so different.

Pre-election manoeuvre or not, we’ll take it. Of course, the bottom line for anglophones will be whether their concerns and communications have a bearing on what the government actually does. Still, the naming of a minister for anglophones should be welcomed as an important step forward.

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